Make Music New York (6/21/24)

This event happens twice a year—summer solstice and winter solstice. Due to this year's excessive heat and the fact that I needed to conserve energy (the elevator in my building is not functioning, and I'm on the sixth floor), I set a modified schedule for myself. And I agreed with myself that I could bail at any time. Fortunately, bailing was not needed.

First stop was Tilted Axes: Strawberry Solstice. What the what? This was street music in Richard Tucker Park (a small triangle near Lincoln Center—who knew?). Eight electric guitars, one keytar (I'm not making this up, you know), three electric bass, and two percussionists. Not my normal fare, but it worked. They processed around the park, had some minimal choreography, similar to marching band stuff, but on the slow side, and performed for a relatively enthusiastic crowd. I was able to find shade and a chair, so I was a happy camper. At the end of their set pieces, they set off to Strawberry Fields in Central Park. I did not tag along.

I set off for my second of three planned stops, the ever-popular Sousapalooza. A spirited group of amateur musicians playing Sousa marches. Here's the back story. Players register for the event and are sent scores for the pieces on the program so that they can work on them at their own pace and at their own time. There are no Zoom rehearsals. There are no rehearsals. They just show up and play, though there is a conductor. I'd venture to say there were 50 musicians, though I'm notoriously bad at judging crowd counts. Here's what they played: El Capitan (which is from an operetta—news to me); The Fairest of the Fair (new to me); Hands Across the Sea; The High School Cadets (also new to me); In Memoriam (composed for John Garfield's funeral—I knew about this one and had heard it before); Liberty Bell; Manhattan Beach; Semper Fidelis; Sound Off; The Thunderer; Washington Post; and Stars and Stripes Forever. In a fun moment, between two of the marches, there was a fire engine blaring its horn for a minute or so. One of the musicians matched the pitch and then the entire ensemble retuned to the fire engine. A stroke of genius, encouraged by the conductor. Yeah, this was not a concert hall performance, but it was a real performance. Once again, I found a chair and was in the shade for ten of the twelve marches. This was at least my second Sousapalooza, and I'll be back for more.

I almost skipped the final stop, but I'm glad I didn't. This was Mass Cellos. Nine cellos. Again, amateurs signed up ahead of time, were sent the parts, chose what part they would study (all were four-part arrangements), and then assembled for the performance. Though it wasn't made perfectly clear, I think there might have been one rehearsal. But here's the thing—you never really know who's going to show up until they show up; in fact, one cellist showed up in the middle of the performance. As there was no printed program and no actual set list and no actual announcements, I had to glean as much info as I could as they discussed each selection. The first was something by Bach. The second was a Gavotte by Bach, appropriately dance-like with, appropriately, several themes. The third was an arrangement by one of the attending cellists. It was a little more lush than the Bach which preceded it. After the tenth cellist arrived, they played a pizzicato polka. Well, that was a crowd pleaser. They finished with a piece that was either a tango or a habanera. It will remain a mystery.

I'm already looking forward to December 21.

ConcertMeister

Alpha and Omega

6/11/24 and 6/13/24
Nosky's Baroque Band and The Academy Players – Running the Gamut

Alpha. Tuesday, June 11 was the first of this season's Naumburg Orchestral Concerts. Aislinn Nosky was the featured violin soloist. Here's the program:

Sinfonia in D Major, Op. 6, No. 12, (1735) – Evaristo Felice Dell'Abaco (1675–1742)
Concerto Grosso in A minor Op.6. No.4, HWV 322, (1732) – George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Concerto Grosso No.1 in G major, (1740) – Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer (1692–1766)
Concerto Grosso in E flat major, Op. 7 No. 6, "il Pianto d'Arianna" (1741) – Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695–1764)
Concerto Grosso in C minor, Op. 6 No. 3 (1712 or prior) – Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713)
Quintet (Sinfonia Spirituosa) in D Major, TWV 44:1 – Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Violin concerto in D major, RV 208 "il Grosso Mogul" (1720) – Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)

You may be asking why is the spacing of the works is all out of whack? I retyped them, as is, from the printed program. You may be asking what is a concerto grosso? It's a piece that pits a larger portion of the orchestra against a smaller portion, with the larger portion being grosso. Almost all of the concerti grosso had multiple movements, so I spared you (and me) from naming all of them.

The band had the usual four strings sections – violins, violas, cellos, and bass – but with added theorbo (does everyone remember what a theorbo is?) and harpsichord. A well-rounded ensemble. The concerti grosso were all played very nicely. The Vivaldi violin concerto was exceptional. Ms. Nosky was interrupted with applause at least three times, akin to what you would experience at a jazz performance. Yes, she was that good.

Omega. Midtown Concerts with Gotham Early Music Scene. Yes, Thursday, June 13 was their final concert until the series picks up again September 12, 2024. Here's the program:

La Gamme – En forme d'un petit Opéra (1723) – Marin Marais (1656–1728)

Marais is a composer whose name I know, but I can't recall ever hearing his music live before. The piece was essentially a through-composed work of many individual movements broken up into two parts. Confused yet? So was I.

Ut-Ré-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si-Ut-Si (Gravemont-Rondement)
Si (Un peu plus gay)-La-Sol-Fa-Mi-Ré-Ut

The trio was viola de gamba (pretty much a cello held above the gound by the player's legs), harpsichord, and violin. There were interesting sections where each individual instrument was highlighted, but they were few and far between. For the most part it was (for me, at least) what sounded a lot like what I had just heard for the last few minutes, without enough oomph to keep me overly interested. Am I glad I went? Definitely. Will I seek this work out again? Doubtful.

ConcertMeister

The Orchestra Now (5/19/24)

Chloé Van Soeterstède, conductor (début)

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun – Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Trombone Concerto – Realisation; Rumination; Illumination – Dani Howard (b. 1993); Peter Moore, trombone
Symphonic Dances – Non allegro; Andante con moto (Tempo di valse); Lento assai–Allegro vivace – Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)

Full disclosure—this was not a free concert. I spent a whopping $15 for a balcony seat (and the balcony was pretty much empty). I bought my ticket the day before the concert, since I'm having problems making commitments these days. That said, I'm really glad I went.

Here's the reason I went. I had never heard the Debussy live before. I danced to it in Virginia before moving to NYC. But the piece also means a lot to me for another reason. When Michael and I would go on vacation to one of our favorite Florida spots, we knew that the places we usually rented had a cassette player (remember them?). We always brought a cassette that had Faun on it. When we arrived, we'd put the cassette on, play Faun, and say, "Now we're really on vacation."

Well, The Orchestra Now did not disappoint. Their playing was ethereal, gossamer, and beautiful. I'm so glad I've now heard the composition live.

Now, on to another first. I had never heard a trombone concerto before. This was the U.S. premiere of the work, played by Peter Moore, for whom it was written, and who also had some input assisting the composer. Alas, I've misplaced my handwritten notes, but the three movements were interesting, and included some beautiful writing, some virtuoso writing, and some (for want of a better word) splazzando (pronounced splat-zon-doh) writing, for which lower brass instruments are well known. It was a tour de force played very well by both the soloist and the orchestra.

The Rachmaninoff, also in three movements, was quite an earful. Written late in his life (1940), it was much more modern than I associate with Rachmaninoff (late Romantic). The middle movement, Tempo di valse, was an almost intoxicating perpetual motion—the waltz was omnipresent, almost overpowering. The entire work was a joy to listen to, and I had a great time in the rafters of the Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center. It was also my first time hearing anything at that venue.

A lot of firsts, hearing an ensemble that I know very well.

ConcertMeister

20th Century Romantics (5/12/24)

Langsamer Satz – Anton Webern (1883–1945)
Amy Schroeder, Katie Hyun, violins; Jordan Bak, viola; Brook Speltz, cello

Three Pieces for String Quartet, K019 – Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
No. 1; No. 2; No. 3
Siwoo Kim, Alex Fortes, violins; Yura Lee, viola; Michael Nicolas, cello

Octet in C Major, op. 7 – George Enescu (1881–1955)
Très modéré; Trés fougueux; Lentement; Mouvement de Valse bien rhythmée
All eight string players

This was my first free concert at Trinity Church Wall Street. I won't bore you with the technical ticketing problems—I made it in with time to spare. I knew the names of all three composers, but I know I had never heard Webern or Enescu in live performance before.

The Webern began slow and stately, dense and full without being oppressive at all. At times it bordered on haunting but it was also lovely. A great concert opener.

The first movement of the Stravinsky had the hard, driving rhythms often used by the composer. The second movement was a little calmer, but still rhythmic, especially in pizzicato (plucked strings) phrases. Also as usual, there were few discernible tunes to speak of. The third movement was richer and denser, and even calmer than the second of the three. There were some dissonances (harsh sounds), but they were pretty dissonances.

The four movements of the Enescu were slightly misleading as I had trouble figuring out when one left off and another started. It was a 40-minute work (and we were warned ahead of time). That said, it sailed along easily. It had a solid opening, strong and slightly dramatic, with a touch of lush sounds. It was enjoyable, with a soft, subdued ending. The second movement was brisk and bold, almost furious. Then it calmed down (a little) (and not for long), leading into (attacca—without pause) the third movement, appropriately slow and song-like, in a plaintive way (attacca) then with sort of aggressive phrases mixed in in obvious waltz time.

It was a very enjoyable concert in a very historical space (only steps away from ground zero). Oddly, I worked near there in 1993 when the first attack on the World Trade Center occurred. Small world, isn't it?

ConcertMeister